Wire looping and clinching machine



April 20 1926;

M. DINCOGNBTO WIRE LOOPING AND CLINCHING MACHINE- Filed Feb. 11.. 19

24 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 20, 1926.

. M. DINCOGNITO WIRE LOOPING AND cLINcHma MACHINE Filed Feb 11. 1924.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A ril 20,1926. 1 1,581,105

r M. DINCOGNITO WIRE LOOPING AND QLIN CHING MACHINE I 44 j Z .1545 5 w v 1 v M if 37 544 ddnesseg 676 w rwmzo'r' afizz/mm'fmo wa 1 I 7 65 mm 1 piece of wire.

Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

,4 .UNITED STATES MICHAEL DINCOGNITO, 0F GI-IICAGO, ILLINOIS WIRE LOOPING AND CLINCI-IING 1VIAGHINE.

Application filed February 11, 1924. Serial No. 691,904.

To all whom it may concern: J 1

Be it known that I, MICHAEL DI ooo- Nrro, a citizen of'the United States, reslding at Chicago, in .the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Wire Looping and Glinching Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. 1 1 The present invention relates to a wire looping and clinching machine. .1

The machine has a wide varietyof uses in the manufacture of staple articles constructcd of wire and of wire specialties. For example, my machine has particular utility for constructing the wire frames of lamp shades, such as connecting the ribs and outer loops of the frame together. Other uses are the construction of bed springs, soap receptacles,the construction of small wire chain. and myriads ofv other uses where a wire looping or clinching function is desired. 1

In the manufacture of numerous of these articles,*it is frequently necessary to loop one wire around another and firmly clinch it to the second wire. This is illustrated by the clinched connection between the ribs and the hoops of a lamp shadc'frame, and by the connections between the main frame and the lower supporting wires of a soap receptacle. To meet this need, it has been one of principal objects of the present invention to provide a machine which will loop one wire about another and firmly clinch it thereto,

the two wires being freely removable from the machine after this operation.

It is frequently desirable to loop or clinch,

one wire to another wire which is in the form of a small ringor eye;'o r to a corner or other angular formation in the second It has, therefore, been a further object of my invention to provide a machinewhich will accommodate. these irregular formations inthe second portionof wire around which the looping or clinching is performed.

By virtue ofthis, I secure the further object of being able to loop onewire within the eye or loop of another. This is illus trated by the formation of small link chain made of sections of wire having eyes looped together. It will be understood that the machinecan be made to form a freeloop in the first wire which is freely slidable along the second wire, or it may be made to firmly clinch the first wire to the second wire against any relative motion, depending 'uponthe adjustment of the parts of the maan ordinary work bench and operated .by

hand or. by any suitable-treadle mechanism. Referring now to the accompanying I drawings .wherein I have illustrated apreferred embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of the device mounted on a suitable bench. or sup: port, and illustrating a typical form of treadle actuating member; 1 7

' Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an view through the median plane of the sides and taken approximately on line 33' of Fig. 2, this figure illustrating the forming member at the top of its stroke;

Fig. 4 is a similar View illustrating the relation of the parts after the forminglmember has started its downward operative movement; 1 Q

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating there enlarged vertical sectional lation of the parts uponthe completion of l the adjustable mounting of the stop gage; 1

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary View similar to Fig. 4, showing a difi'erent relationship of the parts for performing alooping operation; and

Fig. 13 is a similar view showing how 1 one wireis looped through the .loopor eye of the other wire. I

The entire machine is assembled within two side plates 15-15, which plates constitute both the frame and enclosing housing for the operating parts. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, thelower ends of these plates 15-15 have laterally projecting feet or supporting flanges 1616, which bolt at 17 to the bench or other support '18. Slots 1919 are cut through the flanges 16,-and through the support 18, to receive the two operating links or bars 2121 which extend up along the outer sides of the plates 15. Below the support .18, these bars .converge together, as shown in Figure 2, and

have pivotal connection through a pivot bolt 22 with any suitable operating treadle 23 pivoted to a fixed support at 24. The

upper endsof the links 21 pivotally connect to-a bolt 25 extending transversely through the machine, the depression of the treadle 23 moving this bolt through an operating stroke defined by theslots 26 in the frame plates 15, through which slots the bolt 25 extends.

The stock is inserted into a tapered slot 27 cut into the front edge of the machine. The general formation and size of the slot is adapted to be varied in accordance with the size'of stock being worked upon and upon the character of the loopingo'rclinch- 'ofeach plate15 is recessed or dished out onan obtuse taper, as indicated at 31. These recesseson opposite sides of the machine permit the wire about which the looping or clinching operation'isperformed to be held at an angle in the slot 27; or permit the insertion of such a wire having a diagonally bent portion extending at an angle to the portion about which the looping or clinching is performed; or permit the insertion of small wire rings into the slots 27 for clinching a secondary wire about such a ring. It will also be observed in Fig. 1 that the frame plates 15 are cut back at their front edge directly below the slot 27, as indicated at 32. This permits of small Wire rings being inserted in the slot 27 and swung downwardly i-nto the position indicated at 33 in'dotted lines for re-, ceiving the secondary wireto be looped or clinched aboutthis ring. i

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the 0p- 7 posing faces of the two plates 15 are-machined outto form a groove or track 35 which extends substantially vertically from the upper ends of-the plates down to substantially the level of the slot 27, where this groove or track curves forwardly under the slot, as indicated at 35 The forming member 36, which performs the looping or clinching operation, rolls in this groove under the operating impulse transmitted fromthe treadle 23. The slots 26, which receive the bolt 25, extend centrally of the groove 35, as shown in Fig. 3. The bolt 25 is extended through an aperture in the upper end of the forming member 36, and, as shown in Fig. 6, a'roller 37 is mounted on this bolt on each side of the forming member 36 for tracking in the section of groove 35 formed in each of the frame plates 15. These'rollers 37 project beyond the rear edge of the forming members 36 to provide a purely rolling contact ofthe forming -member in its downward motion in the groove 35. A similar pair of rollers 37 are pivotally supported at the lower end of the forming member 36 upon a pivot pin 38 passing through the member36. A pair of anti-friction washers 39 are also interposed between the operating links 21.]and the lateral sides of the frame plates '15 for spacing the links 21 from the plates and giving a "free, slidingmotion to thelinks. The upper end of the forming member is provided :with a finger 41 which normally engages between two co-opera-ting fingers 42 and '43 on a" cam 44. The opposing faces of the-two frame plates 15 are each recessed to form a compartment or chamber 45 for receiving the cam 44 and its associated parts. This depression 45 extends from the right'hand edge-of the groove or track 35 to a. point adjacent the right hand edges of the plates 15and is of a shallower depth than the groove 35, as clearly shownin Figures 8 and 9. This depression 45 just snugly embraces the sides of the forming member 36 and the'cam 44. This cam is pivoted on a pin 46. extending through the two frame plates. v i

The cam surface 47 normally bears against a cam roller 48 pivoted on a pin 49 in the end of a clamping slide 51'. Asshown in Fig. 7, the roller 48 is pivotally supported in the bifurcated end of the slide 51, and is of substantially the thickness of the cam 44'. This leaves projecting sides on the slide 51, which engage in guide ways '52 formed as long, rectangular slots in the face of each plate 15. The lower end of the slide 51 is slotted at 53 for receiving the clamping plate 54. This plate is held in slot 53 by a pin 55. As shownin Fig. 7, the under side of the plate 54 .is formed with a. groove '56, whichis adapted to embrace the upper half of the looping 'or clinching wire for firmly clamping this wire in position preliminary to the. looping or, clinching operation. The clamping plate 54 may be fixedly held in the-slide 51 by engaging the. ends of the pin 55 in closely fitting holes in the slide. As an alternative COI1Sl31'l10tl0I1,thB clamping plate. may have a stifi clamping resiliency by arranging the ends of the pin 55 inslots 58 and interposing a stiif spr'ing'GO between the plate and the top o-fthe notched recess 53 (Fig.7).

-As will be observed from Fig. 4, this clamping member 54 operates to clamp the upper wire a, in which the loop or clinch is formed, down against the lower wire I), around which the loop or clinch is formed. The portion of the wire 6 aroundwhich the loop or clinch is to be formed is inserted crosswise into the slot 27 and is pushed back to the rear of the slot, where it is dropped downwardly into notches or recesses 30, which hold the wire against horizontal dis placement. The end of the looping wire a is theninserted endwise in the slot 27, directly above the wire Z). A gage, to be hereinafter described, limits the inward insertion of this wire to the proper length for forming the loop or clinch. The duty of the clamping member 54 is to force the loo-ping wire a down on' to the intervening span of wire '5 between the notches 30 with sufficient force to firmly hold the two wires in this position during the operation of curving the end of the Wire a down under and up against the otherside of the wire 6.

For holding the member 54 in this clamping position during the operation of looping the end of the wire a, a notch 58 is formed at the end of the cam surface 47 for receiving the roller 48 after the clamping member 54 has been forced against the wire a. When the roller 48 is in this notch, the line of reaction of the clamping member is through the center of the pivot 46, and the shoulder 58 being substantially square to this line of reaction, the clamping member and cam are retained in this clamping position. A spring 59 is hooked at its lower end to the clamping plate 54 and at its upper end to a stationary pin 61. This spring operates to return the clamping slide to the position illustrated in Fig. 3 after the completion of each looping operation, and by. resiliently urging the clamping slide up against the shoulder 58, it causes theclamping slide to function as a detent for holding the cam in the position shown in Fig. 4 during the looping operation.

The gag-e whichdetermines the length of wire a inserted into the machine for forming the loop is indicated at 62, and comprises a. metallic bar or strap bent upwardly at its forward end to provide a front abutment surface. The other end ofthis bar is adjustably secured to block 63, which has pivotal mounting on a pin 64 passing between the frame plates 15. The end ofthe bar 62 is slotted at 65, as shown in Fig. 11, and passing through this slot is a pair of screws 66 and 67, which tap into the block 63. By releasing these screws, thev bar 62 can be slid forwardly or backwardly relative to is extended between a stationary pin. 71 and a wire clip 72 secured under the head of the screw 67. The spring 69 tends to draw the eye or loop in the end of the clip 72 into line with the pins 71 and 64, and thus tends to hold the gage in the full line position. The two screws 66 and 67 are accessible for adjusting the gage when the latter has been swung down to approximately the position shown in Figure 5. l

The die portion of the forming member 36 comprises a forwardly extending portion 7 5 havinganupwardly inclined lower edge 76, which terminates in a rounded toe 77. Formed around the outer curve of the shaping toe 77 is a semicircular groove 78 (Fig. 3), similar to the groove 56. Beyond the toe 78 is formed a semicircular recess 79,

which functions to complete the looping or size of stock being bent. Therefore, with 7 each size ofdie 28, there is an associated forming member 36 having a. recess or groove 79 adapted to cooperated with a particular size of die 28 in bending the size of stock the slot 27 of the die is built to, accommodate. The forming member 36 ,may be easily removed from the groove 35 by separating the frame plates 15, whenever it is desired to replace it by a different size member. The operation of the machine is as follows:

The wire I) is first inserted crosswise in the slot 27, and is dropped into the two notches. 3030 at the sides of the slot. The. wire a, which is to be wrapped around the wire 5, is then inserted endwise into the slot 27 until it strikes the gage 62. The treadle 23 is then depressed. From the position shown in Fig. 3, the forming member 36 is pulled downwardly through the positions shown in Figures 4 and 5. In the initial part of this downward movement, the finger 41 bears downwardly on the finger 42 of the cam 44 andrevolves this cam downwardly and to the right to the position shown in Fig. 4. This thrusts 'the'clamp- &

wire a. firmly down against the intervening span of wire 6 between the notches 3030 of the slot 27. The cam 44: and slide 51 lockin the clamping position shown, by the roller 48 cominginto dead-center alignment with the right angle shoulder 58, as before described.

The two wires a and 6 having now been firmly clamped together, the looping nose 7 7 engages the projecting end of the wire a and bends this wire downwardly around the wire Z) in the continued downward motion of the forming member 36. The gage 62 is, of course, displaced by contact with the lower forward edge of the forming member as the latter moves downwardly. However, this gage is not displaced until the two wires are firmly clamped together by the clamping plate 54. The continued motion of the forming member 86 causes this member to begin a forward movement through the arcuate portion of the guiding groove or track This brings the forming nose 77 forwardly so that the end of the wire a is wrapped downwardly and aroundunder the bottom of the wire I). In the laststage of the movement, the formingnosei't' is carried forwardly past the wire Z) and is then started upwardly by virtue of the upward curve in the front end of the arcuate groove 35. This upward motion is proport-ioned to bring the semicircular recess 79 up under the bottom of the loop, so that the lower half of the loop will be embraced in this recess, as shown in Fig. 5. The continued upward movement of the member 36, after the recess 79 has been brought into this embracing position, functions to crimp or wrap the lower part of the loop upwardly and around the under side of the wire I). v

' The treadle 23 is now released, whereupon the spring 20 swings the treadle upwardly, thereby restoring the forming member 36 to its upper position illustrated in Fig. 3. In moving into this upper position, the finger 41' ofthe forming member 36 strikesthe finger 43 of the cam 44 and kicks this cam around to bring the shoulder 58 out of register with the roller 48, whereby the spring 59 is permitted to raise the clamping slide'51. The gage 62, of course, restores itself under the tension of the spring 59., The wire I), with the Wired looped about it, is then withdrawn from the. slot 27 by lifting the wire Z) up wardly to clear the notches 30, and drawing the two wires outwardlythrough the slot.

It will be observed thatthewire Z) serves as a mandrel around which the wire ais wrapped. lVhen a firm, clinched connection is desired between the two wires, the' wrap wire a is brought around under the mandrel wire and is forced upwardly against this mandrel wire under considerable pressure to solidly clinchthe two wires'togethen This clinching pressure may be sufficient to groove f A comparatively loose loop, which will permit free play between the wires, can be obtained in different ways. VVhe-n working with soft metal stock, a loose loop may be obtained by clinching in the ordinary man'- ner, and then, upon removal of the two wires from the machine, turning, twisting and working the two wires so as to loosen the loop su'lficiently'to give the desired play. Vhen working with harder metal or heavier gage stock is may be desirable to modif the wrapping operation by curving the wrap wire around under tlie mandrel wire without. the application of any upward pressure to the wrap wire, so that it is not forced up against the mandrel wire, but a slight spacing is retained between the two wires. This is illustrated in Fig. 12, and may be considered a loop as distinguished from theclinch as shown in Fig. 5 and described above. This wrapping operation maybe modified by employing a forming member 36 in which the forming nose 77 and recess 79 are closer to the center of the pivot pin 38;

or by lowering the lower edge of the groove or guideway Another practice is to substitute the die members 28 in each frame plate 15 for die members'in which the slot 27 and notch 30 are disposed at a slightly higher plane, substantially as shown inFig; 12. In this figure, the previous depth of notch 30 for performing the clinching opera tion indicated by the dotted circle It will be noticed that by raising the plane of the mandrel wire 7) and the wrap wire a, no clinching pressure can be applied to the wrap wire when it it curved around under the. mandrel. wire. here the spring pressed arrangement of clamping plate '54 is employed, this resiliency will accommodate the elevated positions of the wires (r and Z),

otherwise the clamping member will, in some instances, have to be "substituted; I

The loop which affords play between the mandrel wire and the wrap wire is of utility in making link chain, and in numerous other situations where it is desired to have relative sliding motion of the wrapwire along the mandrel wire, or relativ'e rotational freedom between the wires. "An expeditious manner of making link chain, or for joining two wires together by-inter-connected loops in my machine is to loop a wrap wire around the mandrel wire, as above described, and then withdraw the two wires and insert the loop crosswise in the slot 27. dropping it into thenotches 30 and extending the wire which was previously the mandrel wire into position for looping as a wrap wire. This is illustrated in'Fig. 13, from which it will be noticed that the loop of the previously looped wrap wire is disposed erect in the slot 27 with the shank of the loop on the under side. This results in this shank por tion serving as the mandrel around which the other wire is thereafter looped. For this hind the loop, or the clamping plate may be slotted as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 for engaging the wrap wire both forwardly and backwardly of the loop. Fig. 10 illustrates one manner of mounting the plates 28 for ready removability and substitution. Each plate has a tongue portion 28 of lesser thickness than the frame plate 15, which extends back into a locking recess in the frame plate. One or more screws 29 may be employed for securing this tongue to the frame plate. This permits of convenient substitution of these plates for performing the operations illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13. Also, when using different sized stock, the die plate 28 in each of the frame plates 15 may be thereby substituted for dies having different sized slots 27 and notches 30, and having different degrees of spacing between the inner opposing surfaces 7 of the die plates.

Fig. 10 illustrates some ofthe advantages in chamfering back the frame plates 15 and die plates 38 concentric of the slot 27. These chamfered depressions 31 will receive a diagonally bent or kinked wire indicated in dotted lines at 84. These recesses will also accommodate a relatively smallwire ring, which can be dropped down over the top of the machine and drawn into the notch 27 by virtue of these recesses. Such a ring is represented by the dash and dot lines 85. This ring may also be swung down into the cut-away portion 32, as indicated at 33 in Fig. 1. A section of straight stock may even be inserted diagonally in the slot 27 and held therein for clinching a wrap wire around this diagonal wire at an angle.

It will be apparent that numerous modifications and rearrangements of parts may be made within the metes and bounds of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a frame comprising a pair of plates secured together, there being a slot in the edge of the joined plates, said slot receiving a mandrel wire passing transversely of said plates, said slot having a coextensive opening for receiving a wrap wire inserted between said plates and across said mandrel wire, a clampmg slide movable between said plates, guide-ways in the op posing walls of saidplates for mounting said slide, said clamping slide being adapted to engage said-wrap wire, a formlng member movable between said plates and adapted to engage the end of said wrap wire projecting into said coextensive opening, guide-ways in the opposing walls of said plates for guidways causing said forming member to move lng said forming member, said latter guidethrough a curved path around said mandrel wire, a cam for actuating said clamping slide, means for oscillating said camduring the initial movement of saidforming member, and means for actuating said forming member. w

2. In combination, a frame comprising two plates secured together in abutting relation, there being a slot cut in the edges of said plates transversely thereof, notches at the inner end of said slot, said slot receiving the mandrel wire, which is supportedin said notches,'the looping wire being inserted endwise into said slot across said mandrel wire, a clamping slide reciprocable' in guide-ways in the opposing faces of said plates, a forming member movable in guide-Ways in the opposing faces of said plate, said latter, guide-ways being curved under said slot, whereby said forming member engages the end of said looping wire and curves. it downwardly and under said mandrel wire, a cam pivotally supported between said plate and operable to reciprocate said clamping slide, a finger projecting from said cam, a finger projecting from sald forming member and co-operating with said first named finger to oscillate said cam, actuating means, and a member connected to said forming member and projecting from between saidplates for connectlon with sald actuatmgmeans.

3. In combination, means for receiving a first wire and for holding it in the position of a mandrel with respect to a second wire to be fastened thereto, means for gang ing the amount of the second wire to be wrapped around the first wire, means for In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 8th day of January, 1924;.

- MICHAEL DINOOGNITO. 

